Total colectomy is the most significant risk factor for anastomotic leak following colon cancer resections, putting patients at four times higher risk of the catastrophic complication, research shows. 

Data from 20,000 adults in the Bowel Cancer Outcomes Registry also suggest that subtotal colectomy and extended right hemicolectomy are predictors of anastomotic leak (AL). 

The risk of AL was more than doubled in patients undergoing either procedure, according to Australian and New Zealand surgeons. 

“With growing evidence of similar oncological outcomes between extended colectomy and left hemicolectomy for splenic flexure cancers, more limited resections should be considered, especially in elderly, comorbid or high-risk patients without obstruction,” they concluded.